Author's Note: This time the absence wasn't my fault I swear! X3 Between compute problems and wifi issues, this chapter took much longer than necassary to finish, and I apologize for that :/

But regardless, here it is, and I'm sorry for it being kind of short, I didn't want to get to far into this next part just so that I could give you guys a cliffhanger ;3 Don't worry, my update schedule should return to at least every other week, so you won't have to wait so long for the next part :)

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The town was nearly desolate when she arrived, and the few people she encountered didn't seem too willing to talk to her as they promptly turned away or shut their doors. Part of her wondered how Kakashi would have managed to find any information in a place like this. Even though she had transformed into her ninja garb, the people still seemed to be rather weary of her.

Sighing as she began to fear that she wouldn't find any leads in this place, a surprisingly friendly shopkeeper finally reached out to her. "You there! Red-haired lady! What brings ya to a place like this? We don't get many visitors, ya know." The man beamed at her, a smile that didn't seem to fit plastered onto his face.

"I'm actually looking for someone… Have you seen a white-haired man recently, one wearing a mask?" She questioned, offering him her own polite smile as she approached.

Considering the question, it took the man a moment to answer. "Now that ya mention it, I did see a guy like that…. Came through 'bout a week ago, came asking questions. I was the only one willing to really give 'im answers, though. Came from the Hidden Leaf. Haven't seen him since then though."

Well, what had started out hopeful had quickly crashed into despair as Erza attempted a smile of gratitude despite her disappointment. "Thank you for your help…. Do you know where he might of gone?" She inquired, simply asking for just a small lead so that she might have something to go off of.

"If he went anywhere, he probably headed to the Foggy Fields, as we call 'em. That guy of yers seemed pretty interested when I brought 'em up."

That seemed promising enough, and there was really no reason for her not to see what she could find there. "The Foggy Fields…?" She repeated, "Where would those be?"

"Up north 'bout a mile 'r two. You'll know when yer there, trust me. I have to warn ya though, most of the people that go in that fog, never come out. Been happening for a few months now, and nobody's been able to figure out why… Most folks are too afraid to even take a look now…."

Dangerous or not, Erza knew that she had no choice. Especially if Kakashi had ended up there, somehow. "Thank you so much for your help…. I'm glad to see a friendly face is still trying to liven up this town…" The mage said with a shallow bow of thanks before turning away, waving in response to the man as he bid her farewell.

Given time to think now, the red-head quickly requipped into her Flight Armor and attempted to find her own ideas as to what the strange fog could be, just as she imagined Kakashi doing before her. Unfortunately, she was lost.

This world didn't use magic the way hers did, so any conclusion she came up with would be useless. Genjutsu crossed her mind, considering she had been caught by that once before. The thought terrified her, because an invasion of the mind was not something she could ward off. Her magic was very physical, and even if Kakashi had tried to teach her a way to challenge it, she probably wouldn't be able to do it. Chakra didn't exist in her.

Every time the mage thought about the differences the two worlds faced, she would become increasingly nervous that perhaps she and Kakashi just couldn't work with one another. That things would become too complicated and they wouldn't be able to do it. Already they had issues with keeping up with their meetings, given how quickly life could happen and how often they could get caught up in their own worlds. How would they be able to ever find time to actually work on their relationship when both were the ones to put their responsibilities first?

Shaking the negative thoughts from her mind, Erza knew better than to allow the thoughts of their relationship to cloud her judgment during a mission, especially one as important as this. She needed to be sure that she kept a cool head at all times, if she ever intended to be able to keep up with the ninja who were the masters of stealth. In an area as dangerous as this, she needed to be completely alert and ready to fight, and at the thought she requipped a blade into her hand, gripping the hilt of the sword tightly.

A strange sight soon brought Erza to a stop as she gazed up at a giant wall of white, her mouth gaping as he eyes widened. Suddenly the name 'Foggy Fields' made sense. For as far as she could see, a thick white barrier seemed to stand between where she stood and the other side, looking foreboding enough to deter anyone from entering.

"What is this…?" She whispered to herself, not expecting an answer as she requipped into her usual armor, keeping a sword in hand as she slowly approached it.

Carefully reaching out a hand once she was within range, Erza merely stook a hand into the dense fog, checking for any kind of damage that it might cause. After waiting a few moments, the mage allowed herself a deep breath of preparation before she took that first step into the blinding wall of white, her sight immediately gone upon entering.

From here on out, she would be forced to rely on her sense of hearing over everything else. And part of her wished she had Natsu or Pakkun with her, the both of them being made for a situation where sight might be limited.